Dedicated to KizuKatana.

Inside the luxurious car-ferry, Sasuke's footfall echoed. It wasn't terribly crowded, which was the only reason why he was holding back from murdering his own boyfriend. It was a little past afternoon.

"Here," he practically slammed the coffee cup in his hand on the round table. Naruto jumped slightly at the sound. Before Sasuke's arrival, he'd been watching the blue waves of the sea. His lips formed a small smile upon smelling the delicious scent of his coffee. Sasuke sat down on the seat across him. They were the only people sitting at the table.

"Thanks," he offered, his blue eyes focused on the matching sky. "The clouds look beautiful today."

Sasuke took a sip from his own drink: plain green tea. Complaining wouldn't change anything at this point, and he certainly didn't want to come off as whiny, but he wasn't easily going to forget about it. "It would look even better from up there if we were on a plane."

"You're still going on about that?" Naruto rolled his eyes and tugged the sleeves of his gray hoodie that read Squad on the chest area. Once his hands were out of Sasuke's sight, he grabbed the paper cup and tasted his coffee. Sasuke started reading his newspaper to avoid seeing the way Naruto grimaced. "There's no sugar in it."

"Is that so?"

"Sasuke. You know I don't drink coffee without sugar."

He gave a weary sigh, eyes still on the paper. The reason he hadn't put any sugar in it was more than obvious. "You eat unhealthy. You drink unhealthy. You've started to gain weight."

"So what? Am I not allowed to?"

"You know I mean well."

Without saying a word, Naruto got to his feet and started walking to the little buffet. Sasuke watched him walk from the corner of his eye. He was still muscular, far from the border of being overweight, but his ass cheeks looked chubbier than ever.

Reading the news of the day, he drank the rest of his tea in silence. Naruto was still not back, so he guessed he was walking around or watching out the windows.

He didn't understand what joy Naruto found in watching the way propellers made white foams over the sea. Or how clouds created patterns in the air. It was just nature.

Sasuke threw his empty cup into the trash can behind their seat. Naruto had insisted they would take the ferry because it would be an adventure! , but taking a plane was much faster – and more comfortable. The waves making the ship constantly float up and down didn't help much with making Sasuke love the journey either. The only pro of being here was that he could smoke whenever he wanted to.

"Sasuke!"

He turned his body to see why his boyfriend was calling to him enthusiastically from a distance. A handful of people looked their way before returning to their own business.

"I found apple vinegar flavored KitKat," Naruto flopped down onto the seat, making the table shake, and tore the package. "Can you believe it? I bet it tastes disgusting."

"Then why did you buy it?"

"Because I'm curious," he took a tentative bite, then put the rest of it down. "Uh. Gross."

"Stop wasting money," Sasuke frowned, his tone disapproving. He pulled out his laptop from the leather briefcase lying on the seat next to him. "You're not visiting the gym. That's why you're getting fat."

"I'm not getting fat, Sasuke," Naruto groaned. "Stop messing with me. Don't you have work to do?"

"Yes. That's what I'm planning to do right now."

Naruto averted his annoyed gaze from Sasuke, so Sasuke did the same, staring at his laptop screen instead. "You know I've been busy lately. You might still make time for gym, but our jobs are different. I'm not always occupied like you are, but some weeks are busier than others."

"Don't you think I know that?" Sasuke said with an offended snort. He knew Naruto was not trying to make a fool out of him, but it was still annoying.

Naruto didn't dwell on it. "Whatever. But this weekend was nice, wasn't it?"

He stopped sliding his index finger over the touchpad. For some reason, he wasn't able to focus. "Hn."

"I'm so glad we found that place," Naruto calmly stated. "I didn't know they had onsens in Chiba as amazing as the ones in Hakone."

Sasuke briefly nodded and stole a glance at his boyfriend. "The hotel was clean too."

"Yep," Naruto grinned at him. The blond was good at shooing away the tension in the air. He could feel an answering smirk form on his lips. Shutting the laptop, he placed it back in the briefcase. "I'm going out to the deck."

Naruto's smile faded. "You're gonna smoke, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"You smell bad when you smoke." He saw his boyfriend wrinkle his nose in disgust. "And taste like an ashtray."

"I don't say anything when you taste like…" He picked up the half-empty package on the table in a revolted manner. "…Apple vinegar. So shut it." He sent it down next to his empty cup.

"You've started smoking too much lately," Naruto complained, folding his hands over his chest. "I'm gonna be the one who has to take care of you when you get lung cancer, so don't."

Sasuke's left brow twitched in irritation. It took all he had to keep his tone clear of grudge. "You don't have to take care of me just like you don'thave to stay by my side."

Naruto pouted. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm not forcing you to taste me or smell me. It's your own choice. But I'm sure you already know this."

He left Naruto alone in his perplexed state and started heading to the door. He could use some fresh air.

. . .

The scent of the briny sea and the bitter smoke mixed in Sasuke's lungs. He was leaning over and resting one arm on the railings as he used his other to lead the cigarette to his mouth. He breathed it in deeply, feeling it fill his lungs and exhaled slowly, watching the gray smoke vanished into thin air.

He'd been feeling unsure about life for almost a year. The family business was running smoothly as always. After all, Itachi and Sasuke had been trained especially to take the company over. He could do it with his eyes closed. But business, sadly, wasn't everything. He had a relationship going on for almost 7 years.

Sasuke and Naruto knew each other since high school. The simple annoyance they felt toward each other had turned into rivalry as they got to knew each other better, and the tension between them was nearly palpable by the time they were in their junior year. Of course, their teachers had always paired them for school projects so they would learn to 'get along', but they would always end up fighting and working separately. In their senior year, they had found a better way to show how much they hated each other.

It was better. The bruises were on their hips and necks rather than their faces. Neither of the boys remembered who'd initiated it, but it had never mattered.

Through college, they had shared a dorm room. Their majors were different, Sasuke was studying business administration while Naruto had chosen graphic design, but they still got to spend time together, which was the important thing.

After graduating, they had both agreed to continue sharing a room. It had also made them realize dorm rooms were torturous; the cheap beds made squeaky sounds and the walls were ridiculously thin. But in their own apartment, they had found out they could be as noisy as they wanted after getting the walls covered with sound insulating foam. Also, they could walk around naked. It was a plus for Naruto. Sasuke didn't care about it that much.

Sasuke honestly didn't know what had changed. Naruto was his usual self. He had matured, yes, but his personality still seemed the same. The years they had spent together as a happy couple seemed so far away to Sasuke. They brawled a lot lately, more than ever. And they ended with Naruto leaving the house instead of having hot make-up sex like old times.

He'd never asked what Naruto did when he stormed off. When it was one of the rare times when he couldn't take it staying alone in the house, he usually took long walks around. With Naruto's request, they had rented their apartment in a calm, quiet place instead of in the heart of Tokyo. Sasuke appreciated that when he had headaches from working for long hours, but sometimes it pissed him off too. Walking in the woods wasn't his favorite calming down activity. He'd rather go to the gym and kick punching bags repeatedly, and the gym wasn't within walking distance.

Needless to say, after a nerve-wracking fight, he wouldn't risk his life by driving.

The next morning, Naruto would pretend nothing had happened last night and they would get on with their lives. It bothered Sasuke, but he knew trying to talk with Naruto about it would only cause another fight, then Naruto storming off, and it wasn't something his emotionally drained mind could take. He knew they needed to have a talk eventually, though.

It was still only Naruto that he cared about this way. He still sometimes found himself getting lost in the beauty of his boyfriend's face, and felt the unexplainable need to have his way with him, but those times were rare.

Nowadays, Naruto seemed to bother him more than he made him feel glad to be in a relationship. He still loved Naruto, but he also found him really, really annoying.

Feeling exasperation run through his whole system, he inhaled the smoke once more and threw the burnt out butt in the near cigarette receptacle.

Naruto was exaggerating as he always did. Sasuke didn't smoke too much. Every once in a while when he was frustrated, maybe, but he wasn't a heavy smoker. Naruto himself was addicted to sweets and ramen. He had absolutely no right to tell Sasuke to quit.

He stood out there for a while and watched the waves. Of course, like he'd expected it to, it bored him after only 30 seconds. The deck was a lot less crowded than the inside, so he didn't go in right after, enjoying the hushed sound of the blowing wind. Naruto surely would start nagging him about the way he smelled the moment he noticed Sasuke was back.

His steps were not hurried as he pushed the wooden door open and felt the warmth surround himself. He hadn't even realized he was cold. The place now smelled like disinfectants, he saw a janitor wipe the empty tables and throw away trash. It was pathetic how some people couldn't even use a bin. Prep school should've been prolonged for them. With a sneer, he remembered his own boyfriend tended to be one of them. More often than not, Sasuke would fold his laundry, pick up his dirty clothes and stuff them in the hamper. Naruto was inept like that. He never did the dishes unless Sasuke gave him a serious warning. He wouldn't wipe the bathroom floor after showering. His elbow ached from remembering the time he'd slipped and fallen to the floor.

Naruto had said it was his own fault for not watching where he was walking.

As the distance between him and their table shortened, his eyes narrowed. The shiny blond hair of his boyfriend was easy to spot, but the red-haired man sitting on Sasuke's seat wasn't something you would miss.

Naruto's tanned face held excitement as his lips moved fastly. Sasuke couldn't even remember the last time Naruto was that enthusiastic when telling him something. The lips froze when Naruto's eyes met Sasuke's, and the happy expression turned into something confused.

Clearing his throat, Sasuke stood near the table. "Am I interrupting?"

The redhead turned around to face Sasuke. It took only a moment for him to recognize the sea foam green eyes.

"Ah, I see. Sasori- senpai is here too."

"Sasuke," Naruto called to him with a sharp edge to his voice. Maybe it was because Sasuke teased him about his slight obsession over the guy back in high school, when Naruto chased after him and called him senpai. It wasn't something people other than Sasuke could notice, but it was indeed there. His facial features were relaxed. "Sasori's family owns the transportation company. I didn't know he was gonna be here."

"You don't have to explain anything," he plastered an artificial smile on his face and slipped his hands into the pockets of his black jeans. "I remember how much you liked him in high school."

Sasori ran a hand through his crimson hair. Despite not liking the man, Sasuke knew Sasori was more than intelligent. From what Sasuke could see, he'd sensed the tension. "Anyway. It was nice seeing you, Naruto. Deidara is waiting, so I'll leave now." He stood up.

"Wait – I wanna see Deidara-senpai too!" Naruto chimed, getting to his feet. "I haven't seen you both in ages. We almost arrived, right? This might be my only chance for a long time."

Sasori smiled lightly. "I believe we have about 10 more minutes."

"Cool. Let's go." He made a move to leave, but somehow remembered his boyfriend still standing in front of them. "Um. Sasuke. You don't wanna come… do you?"

Sasuke knew Naruto was just asking so he wouldn't feel left out. It flared anger within him. "No." His response was harsher than usual.

The blue eyes looking at him widened before they focused on the other man. "C'mon."

Narrowing his eyes at both, Sasori shook his head and gave a slight nod to Sasuke as goodbye. Sasuke returned the gesture before they started walking toward the direction he'd just come from.

He felt goosebumps break out on his skin.

Ten minutes later, they were getting in Sasuke's car to wait for the vehicles in front of them to move so they could finally get the hell out of there. Sasuke got in from the driver's side. Naruto opened the door and sat on the back seat instead of next to Sasuke.

"I missed Menma so much," he started to speak all of a sudden. "I hope Sakura took good care of him. We've been gone for only two days, but you know Menma. He sometimes gets aggressive."

Sasuke eyed him in the rearview mirror. He was wearing a normal face. Like nothing had happened. His hands trembled. "He's a cat , Naruto. Sakura is perfectly capable of taking care of him."

"I know. I feel lonely without him rubbin' my belly after I eat ramen." He leaned back. Sasuke's knuckles were turning white from holding the steering wheel too tight. Sasuke was there with him nearly every second of the last two days, and here Naruto was, saying he felt lonely.

Turning the engine on, he licked his lips. "We should get another cat. Menma must be feeling lonely too."

"Heh," Naruto gave a husky chuckle. It wasn't long, but it was genuine. Naruto found it… funny . "Nah. He's good. I wanna take a nap. That's why I'm sittin' here in case you're wondering. Anyway," he leaned forward and brushed a quick kiss on Sasuke's right cheek. "Wake me up when we're home."

"…Alright," he breathed out after a short hesitation. In the mirror, he watched Naruto curl up in a ball and close his eyes, then put his eyes on the road, starting to drive now that the path ahead of them was finally clear.

Naruto was acting like everything was fine. He hadn't even said anything about Sasori. Something in Sasuke's head whispered this was the calm before the storm, and as much as he didn't want to believe it, he also knew it was the truth. How much more could he handle?

It was a lot darker when Naruto roused from his slumber. It wasn't Sasuke who had woken him. He rubbed his eyes and straightened his posture as he sat up, looking around. They had pulled up in front of their house and Sasuke was silently sitting and watching the lifeless indicators.

He waited for a couple of minutes, watching his boyfriend's furrowed brows, hoping for the man to realize he was awake. He shifted in his seat, but no reaction came from the driver. He wondered what Sasuke was thinking about so deeply.

"Sasuke?" Naruto's voice was gravelly. He coughed to clear his throat.

Hearing his name made Sasuke jump in the slightest. He turned in the seat easily. His safety belt was off. "Ah. I didn't realize you were awake."

"No. I just woke up," he suppressed a yawn and rubbed an eye. "Umm. Were you just… sitting there for minutes?"

Sasuke shook his head, making the jet black strands of hair move. "No. I've just turned the ignition off."

"Okay," Naruto nodded. "Let's get going then. I wanna see Menma."

In a hushed tone, Sasuke whispered something.

Naruto raised a brow. "Pardon?"

"I said fine," Sasuke answered. He sounded tired. For a brief moment, Naruto felt bad for making Sasuke drive all the way and sleeping himself, but it was gone in a second.

They got out of the car and as Sasuke went ahead to open the door to the apartment, Naruto got their suitcases from the trunk. It was funny that they would take only one big suitcase in the past and now they took two small ones. He shut the trunk door with more force than necessary, watching the way Sasuke winced from the corner of his eye. He grabbed the handles and lifted the bags, making his way to the door.

"Let me help," Sasuke offered, but Naruto jerked the suitcase to his other side and smiled at Sasuke.

"I can handle them, but thanks." They climbed the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator since their apartment was on the first floor.

Once Sasuke unlocked the door and let Naruto in first, Naruto put the suitcases down immediately and walked out of the door. "I'm gonna bring Menma."

He heard Sasuke mutter something under his breath about making the dirty rollers touching the clean carpet. He didn't understand why Sasuke was so anal about this. Some dirt wouldn't kill anyone.

Sakura lived on the fifth floor, so he did take the elevator this time. As the cabin started soaring, he checked himself in the mirror. It wasn't surprising that he didn't have any hickeys or marks that he needed to cover despite having sex only two days ago. The bags under his eyes had turned into a deeper shade of purple. Last week had been hectic; he'd had to wake up early and go to bed very late. Of course, Sasuke hadn't said a word about it. He didn't have the right to, really, but Naruto wasn't sure Sasuke actually cared about it.

As the doors opened, he gave his hair a light ruffle to fix the I-just-got-out-of-bed look and stepped out. He rang Sakura's doorbell and waited.

The door opened after several seconds, revealing a pink haired, young woman with fair skin. "Naruto!"

"Hi, Sakura," he grinned and let her pull him in for a quick hug. "How's it goin'?"

She smiled, brushing away a pink strand of hair. "Good. How was the trip?"

"I had fun," he briefly explained. "I hope Menma didn't give you much trouble."

"Ah, no," she waved a pale hand in dismissal. "He's an attention whore, just like his owner, but other than that, we got along just fine."

"Heh. I'm glad."

"Come in. He's busy humping my couch, but I'm sure you'll catch his attention." She took a step to the side and Naruto walked in, toeing his shoes off in a hurry to see his cat.

He practically ran to the living room, and flopped on the couch, grabbing Menma and hugging him to his chest. "I missed you so much, buddy!"

"You treat him like he's your kid," Sakura pouted. "Anyway. Are you staying? Lee brought fresh coffee grounds yesterday. We can drink a mug or two."

"I'd love to, but I can't," he looked up to meet her jade green eyes, stroking Menma's black and white furs as he did. "We just returned. Sasuke's probably waiting."

"I see," she nodded. "Let me bring his food and litter box then."

He watched her walk away and sighed deeply. It would be nice to stay and talk to her, but he didn't want to leave Sasuke alone. Also, he had to take a shower and make dinner. Menma purred and licked Naruto's hand. It only made him sigh once more.

"Here you go. Remember to buy some more food."

He held Menma and grabbed the bag Sakura gave him. "Thanks for everything."

She smiled. "Don't mention it."

"Tell Lee I said hi."

She closed the door, and Naruto pushed the elevator button with his elbow. Menma was restless, trying to claw the fabric of his sweatshirt.

Once they were on the first floor, he realized it was impossible to get his keys from his pocket, so he ended up ringing the doorbell. It took some time for Sasuke to answer.

"What took you so long?" He grumbled and put Menma on the floor. The cat walked to the bedroom, probably to lick himself clean.

"I was cutting vegetables."

"What are you making?" He put Menma's stuff down too, and closed the door before starting to rub his sore wrists. Sasuke had already walked back to the kitchen. Naruto followed him.

Sasuke grabbed the knife and started slicing a carrot. "Stew."

"I don't like stew," Naruto whined, hopping to sit on the clean part of the countertop. "Can't we make something else?"

"Like ramen?"

"No, not like ramen. Maybe fried rice?"

With a tired groan, Sasuke put the knife on the cutting board and looked at Naruto. His eyes held an unreadable expression. It made Naruto flinch – he was the expert at reading Sasuke, but he'd never seen this face before. It was frightening to realize that. "Can't you eat healthy food for once?"

He bit on the nail of his thumb. Normally, Sasuke didn't force him to eat something. "…Fine. I'll eat."

"Stop biting your nails. Also, get down. You're dirtying the kitchen."

Naruto snorted. Sasuke sometimes acted like such a prick – actually no, not sometimes. Sasuke seemed to act like a huge douchebag all the time. He'd always known that, but lately, it had gotten worse.

"Are you going to help me?"

"You need help?" He hopped off and opened the fridge door. "I was thinking of taking a shower." Seeing they had no beer, he walked back to Sasuke's side. The clean smell coming from the man intoxicated him. Sasuke apparently had already showered. He nudged the pale neck with his nose and breathed in. "You smell good."

Sasuke glared at him. "I need help with cutting the meat."

Throwing daggers like that, he could probably cut the meat just by staring at it. "Okay."

He didn't move right away, thinking about which knife would cut the meat better as he watched the orange slices, so he didn't realize Sasuke's eyes were still on him. " Naruto ."

"Hm?"

"Why are you still standing here?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but his gaze fell to Sasuke's pursed lips. It took no effort to remember how warm and soft they felt against his own. Without thinking, he gently fisted his hand in Sasuke's hair, feeling it damp against his skin, and connected their mouths together. A soft, surprised whimper escaped Sasuke's throat before he kissed back.

Naruto didn't want to pull away. He was afraid of what was going on between them. He didn't like being afraid, and he felt safe when touching Sasuke like this, feeling he was here, so it made perfect sense that he wanted to keep kissing.

But Sasuke eventually pushed him. His lips looked moist, and his cheeks were a bit flushed, but his furrowed brows forced Naruto to move. "Idiot. Go cut the meat."

He felt like his voice would crack if he spoke, so he nodded and put the meat on a cutting board, choosing the biggest knife they had and started cutting it into small pieces.

Sasuke took care of the rest, telling Naruto to take a shower. As the scorching hot water cascaded on his back, he inhaled in the fog. It made his lungs tighten, but after two days spent in a place with hot springs, it didn't have much effect on him. He lathered his hair with robotic motions and let the water rinse the bubbles.

He felt exhausted. Physically, even if not best, he was in good health, but he was an emotional wreck. He knew his relationship with Sasuke was crumbling apart and had no idea how to stop it from happening.

The vacation had really been nice for him. His muscles had relaxed after sitting in the hot springs for hours, and he could say the same about Sasuke. They both spent lots of time sitting in front of a computer, thus, had backaches often. A relaxing trip had been nice. They'd had sex after chilling too. There was no way Naruto could call that boring.

What worried him wasn't that. Lately, he'd been feeling like a wall had risen between them. Their fights had started to end badly, leaving them scarred and disappointed. So, as precaution, he had started to act like he wasn't offended by Sasuke's actions when in truth, all he wanted to was to rip the man apart like he ripped Naruto's heart. Sasuke sometimes tried to drive him crazy. Like today. Who was he to tell Naruto not to take sugar with his coffee? It was Naruto's decision, not his. And when he'd said he would be the one taking care of Sasuke if he got lung cancer… The man had practically told him he could break up with him if he wanted to. Of course he knew he was here with his own free will, but Sasuke saying that… hurt.

He shut his stinging eyes and turned the water off before Sasuke started to complain about the water bill. He toweled off, then used the towel to wipe the water on the floor. His carelessness had caused Sasuke to fall and bruise his arm once. Joking about watching out for his steps hadn't been enough to overcome the guilt. He quickly threw the towel in the washer and opened the door, feeling his lungs fill with non-humid air.

He put on boxers and a pair of sweatpants. The smell of the stew had already reached his nose. Menma was on their bed, taking a nap. He crawled next to him and watched the cat's body move as he breathed in and out.

"Dinner's ready," Sasuke shouted from the kitchen. He chewed on his lip and scratched his chest. He didn't feel very hungry, but made his way to the kitchen.

"Let me set the table," he murmured, opening the drawer to take out two forks and knives.

"Hn. Your hair's dripping all over the floor."

"It's alright."

"I'll get you a towel."

It was no big deal. If he wanted to keep his hair wet, it should've been alright. He was a grown man. He didn't need his boyfriend to dry his hair.

Nevertheless, he thanked Sasuke and took the towel handed out to him, letting it hang from his neck. They sat down, eating in uncomfortable silence. He found the stew good. After all, Sasuke was an excellent cook, but he was still not fond of the dish.

"I'm gonna hit the gym in the morning," Naruto said, stirring the food in his bowl with the spoon. "So I might get up earlier than usual."

"Okay," Sasuke nodded. He didn't make eye contact.

"Do you have work to do tonight?"

Sasuke wiped his mouth with a napkin, this time, looking at Naruto. "Yes, but it's not urgent."

"Alright." He lazily chewed on carrots and beans.

When Sasuke was finished, Naruto was through only half of it. He didn't want to eat though, and Sasuke didn't force him to. "Don't put it in the fridge and tell me you'll eat it later. I don't like cleaning up rotten food."

He got up to pour it in the trash bag. Without letting Sasuke do it, he rinsed both their bowls and placed them in the dishwasher.

"Do you want coffee? I'm going to make some for myself."

Hearing the word 'coffee' come out of Sasuke's mouth made him remember things, and he felt sick to his core. "No, thanks."

"Naruto."

He tilted his head to face Sasuke. His boyfriend put a hand on Naruto's forehead. He looked concerned.

"Are you okay? You look ill."

"I'm fine," he forced his lips to curl upward.

Sasuke nodded and took the towel away from his neck. "I'll bring you a shirt. You're going to catch a cold if you stay like this."

"I said I'm fine," Naruto said through gritted teeth, closing the door of the dishwasher and proceeding to wash his hands.

Hearing nothing from Sasuke, he turned around. Sasuke was gone.

A cold feeling sank in his stomach. Maybe he really was ill.

He went to the bedroom to see if Menma was up. The cat was still sleeping, this time on Naruto's side of the bed. He got his work laptop from the side table and laid down on Sasuke's side of the bed. The pillow smelled like Sasuke. The smell that had always comforted him.

Now it made him dizzy.

He checked his e-mails. Last month, they had designed a website for a popular clothing brand, and it had taken most of their time, but the final product was something worth losing sleep over. The paychecks Naruto and his team had received were more than satisfying.

They were free this week. He'd been originally planning to spend time with Sasuke as much as possible, even risk asking Itachi if he could take over Sasuke's part of things for a day or two so they could fix things, but after today's events, all he wanted to do was to stay away and sleep until his mind went numb.

He gave Menma's head a scratch and got up. He opened the closet door to find something to wear. The red t-shirt was the first thing he had his hands on, and he didn't think too much as he put it on. This was one of the clothes they both wore. Naruto couldn't remember which one of them it belonged to. He had other things to worry about now.

To see what Sasuke was up to, he checked the house. His boyfriend was nowhere to be seen, but his shoes were still by the door and his phone was standing on the coffee table in the living room.

Naruto ran a hand through his hair and opened the balcony door. The breeze softly caressed his cheeks, but it didn't help him cool down the burning sensation in his chest. He sat down on the empty chair, watching the trees sway with the wind. Even the smell of smoke didn't bother him at this rate.

"You forgot to drink your coffee," he softly said, looking at the full cup placed on the small table in front of the chairs that stood side by side.

Sasuke didn't acknowledge his existence. Naruto's toes curled in nervousness.

"Do you want me to heat it up for you?"

"No," Sasuke said gruffly.

Naruto nodded to himself, then reached for Sasuke's pale hand resting on the arm of the chair. The skin was cold. He lifted it, placing his other hand underneath it in an attempt to warm it up. Sasuke put the cancer stick between his lips again and sucked in a breath.

Then, he put it down on the ashtray and watched it burn out before looking at Naruto. "What are you doing?"

A soft, desperate laughing sound escaped Naruto's mouth. "Warming your hand. It's cold."

He could swear he saw Sasuke's lips twitch, but they looked the same thin line when he blinked. Sasuke's porcelain face was shining under the moonlight. His black spikes almost seemed to have navy blue highlights, making Naruto's breath hitch in his throat. Sasuke was so beautiful.

He licked his dry lips. "Sasuke."

His boyfriend tore his gaze from the moon and looked at him. Naruto squeezed the hand in his, feeling its limpness, and leaned in. Before their lips could connect, he saw Sasuke watch his lips with longing in his eyes, and all he could do was to smash their lips together.

Sasuke's own taste had mixed with ash, but Naruto couldn't care less. He just needed to touch Sasuke, to feel him there. He needed to know they were okay. His own feelings couldn't have changed… could they? What was wrong?

He tried blocking the thought by thrusting his tongue into Sasuke's mouth. Sasuke's hand escaped from between Naruto's hands and cupped Naruto's cheek. The kiss was deep and slow.

Tan fingers brushed against Sasuke's chest and slid down from there, touching the front of Sasuke's sweatpants. He wasn't surprised to feel a half-hard bulge.

But the kiss was broken before he could start stroking it. "Naruto. We had sex two days ago."

"So?" He softly kissed the corner of Sasuke's mouth. "We used to do it twice a day."

"That's past tense," Sasuke hissed.

Words were not effective on Sasuke. No; Naruto's expertise was on physical persuasion. He kept brushing his hand to Sasuke's crotch as he started sucking on the warm neck that smelled only like Sasuke. Minutes ago, he was running away from it, and here he was now, seeking comfort from it.

He was pathetic.

Despite his best efforts, Sasuke made a whimper that encouraged Naruto to slip his hand into Sasuke's pants. His eyes were closed as he imagined what kind of face Sasuke was making while Naruto pumped his hard shaft. He knew Sasuke would rather die than let Naruto see it now.

He kissed Sasuke again. Doing this on the balcony meant nothing to him. Their neighbors could fuck off.

"Stop." Sasuke nearly panted. He pulled Naruto's hand out, grabbed his wrist and started tugging him toward the bedroom. The fingers around his wrist were holding it with bruising force, and Naruto was more than okay with it.

"Menma's on the bed," he explained with a murmur before they could pass the bedroom door.

Sasuke stopped in his tracks, scowling. "I'm not doing it with the cat in the room."

"I'll take him out," Naruto offered. He'd expected Sasuke to let his wrist go right away, but Sasuke hadn't. Finally, Sasuke realized his mistake and let his fingers loosen.

Naruto hugged Menma to his chest and put him on the fuzzy cat bed in the hallway. He returned to the bedroom, gently closing the door behind him.

Two strong arms wrapped around him and Sasuke started to nip on the skin of Naruto's neck.

"S-Sasuke," he breathed out against the pale neck.

Sasuke pulled him to his chest closer and whispered in his ear with that deep, warm voice of his that made Naruto shiver uncontrollably. "Let's move on to the bed."

He let his boyfriend push him down, crawl on top and kiss the breath out of him. The fabrics covering their bodies were so unnecessary. He tried taking Sasuke's shirt off, but Sasuke slapped his hand away, doing it himself.

Then, he took Naruto's shirt off too and licked his way down on the caramel colored chest. Naruto was watching Sasuke's face, feeling him, noting every movement he made. They both reached at the same time to pull Naruto's sweatpants and boxers down.

Sasuke closed his lips around Naruto's aching cock, and all Naruto could do was to hold in his scream. Not that the neighbors would hear, but he was afraid his voice would shatter the moment to pieces. He watched Sasuke bob his head up and down, flatten his tongue against the vein, and Naruto felt his face burn at the sight. He needed more of this. More contact.

"Enough," he yanked Sasuke from his hair and connected their mouths, letting their tongues aggressively move against each other. A groan filled his mouth when he tried to pull Sasuke's pants down, but he didn't care. They were both finally naked; he could feel Sasuke's erection brush against his own. The pleasure it brought was too strong to be blocked out by other feelings.

Sasuke didn't want foreplay, and Naruto fully agreed. Sasuke reached for the nightstand, pulled out a bottle of lube and a pack of condom.

"Put it back," Naruto gestured at the condom. He needed to feel Sasuke inside of him. The contact needed to be skin to skin.

Sasuke raised a questioning brow. Naruto took it from Sasuke and put it back, shutting the drawer with an ugly thud.

He turned around, prepped himself on his elbows and relaxed his muscles as Sasuke prepared him by going in with two slick fingers. He bit on his lip, tasting the bitter taste of blood, and moaned. "Hurry up."

He didn't need to say it twice. Sasuke was inside him in a heartbeat. He felt his whole body ache with physical pleasure and emotional pain.

Sasuke thrust deep and slow, making Naruto feel it. His breathing was harsh against the back of Naruto's sweat soaked neck. It all felt like a dream, and not a particularly good one. The tension was making it harder to breathe by the second. It wasn't only sexual tension; as Sasuke slammed into him over and over again, Naruto could also feel the anger and pent-up frustration. Still, it didn't stop them from writhing against each other in pleasure. Their moans, groans and heavy breathing filled their ears.

Naruto reached between his legs and started to pump himself. His back arched as he came in thick spurts against the bed. Sasuke was watching himself go in and out of Naruto, and after a couple more thrusts, he came too, whispering a muffled version of Naruto's name as his brows furrowed in immense pleasure. He collapsed on the bed, next to Naruto.

They laid there for minutes, catching their breaths. Naruto could feel Sasuke's cum leaking down his thighs. Now that his mind was clear of the need to be close to Sasuke, he could remember why he was always persistent on using a condom. This was one of the few times he'd let Sasuke fuck him without it.

The silence grew thicker and thicker. Naruto was the first one to get up, holding the sheet in place with his hands that prevented the cum from dripping to the floor. Sasuke followed him to the bathroom. They washed quietly, which almost made Naruto scream because the silence was so fucking loud in his ears. Sasuke didn't help him clean. Naruto didn't expect him to.

They got in the bed again, ready to go to sleep. Sasuke was on his side, facing Naruto, watching him intently with his deep, dark orbs.

Naruto hoped he would say a word.

But Sasuke didn't. He rolled to the other side. Naruto, feeling dejected, did the same. Feeling his heartbeat make his chest hurt, he let a dreamless sleep take him over.

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